There are now more gay people in America than adult virgins

According to a study, 3 percent of adult Americans say they will wait until…

December 03, 2013|By Corey Beasley | For RedEye

Virgins: They Are People, Too. Did you know 100 percent of people were once virgins? It’s true. And now Psychology Today has another interesting statistic about these mysterious creatures. According to one study, a full 3 percent of adult Americans say they will wait until marriage to have sex. That’s about ten million people keeping their pants on until the big day (or, presumably, the night after the big day, but if you’ve been waiting that long, I’d do it in the limo on the way to the reception too). To put that into perspective, roughly 3.8 percent of adult Americans identify as LGBT. You heard that right – adult virgins are now more of a minority than gay people.

These people are not “asexual” or merely uninterested in sex. Those Americans, the numbers say, only make up about 1 percent of the population. Adult virgins aren’t all ultra-conservative or religiously zealous either. Their reasons for waiting vary, but whatever the rationale, they might have the right idea, in one sense or another. Those who waited until marriage to have sex reported a 15 percent higher “sexual quality” than those who had sex before marriage, as well as a 22 percent higher quotient of relationship stability and a 20 percent higher measure of relationship satisfaction. Delayed gratification, anyone?

Of course, as Psychology Today also points out, announcing your plan to remain a virgin well into adulthood will – to put it politely – result in some stigmatization from your peers. Adult virginity is, ironically enough, one of the more taboo aspects of modern sexual identity. We talk a lot about “slut shaming,” but have you heard much about “virgin shaming?” At least those numbers above suggest virgins might be having the last laugh, all the way to mindblowing orgasm after mindblowing orgasm. Whether you’re waiting until marriage or sleeping with someone new every night, it’s good to keep in mind we’re all adults making our own adult decisions, here. Diff’rent strokes, literally, am I right?